Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Stake in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNC. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 43.1% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Lincoln National by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 12,704 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 95.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln National during the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Lincoln National by 119.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 325,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,237,000 after buying an additional 177,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.81% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln National Price Performance

Shares of LNC stock opened at $37.38 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day moving average is $33.79. Lincoln National Co. has a 1-year low of $25.80 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.03, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.76.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.04. Lincoln National had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 18.47%. Research analysts predict that Lincoln National Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LNC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln National from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lincoln National from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln National from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lincoln National from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

About Lincoln National

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.